


The Duke

by musketrois (B_kate)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Actor Louis, Alternate Universe, Aristocracy, Aristocrat Harry, Boys Kissing, Duke Harry, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Kissing, London, M/M, Romance, Semi-Public Sex, Short & Sweet, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 07:51:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14786459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_kate/pseuds/musketrois
Summary: “Sir, are you authorized to be up here?”Louis jumped away from the window when the person behind him spoke. Turning around, a gorgeous man stood in front of him. Louis quickly schooled his features into a look of innocence when he saw the man’s growing smirk at Louis’ surprise.orHarry is the Duke of Wellington and Louis is an actor performing at the Apsley House Festival.





	The Duke

**Author's Note:**

> Summer 2017 I toured Woburn Abbey and Apsley House. Both homes still contain private apartments, which kicked my Larrie brain into overdrive! I've made up and tweaked a few things in London to make them go with the story, but they should only be noticeable to Britons. :)
> 
> Many thanks to [Nic](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/) for being a fantastic beta!

Louis gazed in awe at the dining room full of paintings. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with numerous Titian’s and Goya’s. It was amazing how Britain’s elite families clung to their collections while being generous enough to display them for the public. After flipping through the room’s guidebook, Louis slowly walked across the floor’s plush carpets towards the main staircase.

He was prepared to walk back down the stairs to the Apsley House lobby when he notice there was no rope hung across the stairs to the next level. When he entered the house, an attendant had told him the upper levels were not open to museum guests, because they were the family’s private apartments. Maybe the employee was misinformed and the upper floors had been opened to the public for the Apsley House Festival?

Louis suspected he should question the lack of a boundary marker, but he was never one to follow the rules. He shrugged his shoulders before making his way up the steps. A gallery attendant didn’t stop him, so it must have been okay.

The Wellesleys, now Styles, had properties all over the world. Louis thought there was no way they would stay in Apsley House when they could pick from more lavishly furnished homes that tourists had no access to.

Louis wandered from room to room without running into anyone. Each bedroom and sitting room he walked around had lavish furniture and decorations, but no personal touches. There were portraits of previous dukes, but no pictures of the current family. 

Louis stared out the windows in a bedroom to the bustle below him in Hyde Park; it was a beautiful June day. Families with prams and excited dogs walked along the park’s paths. Several ice cream carts had lengthy lines of people clamoring for a cooling ice lolly. From where he was standing, Louis could watch the stage his theater troupe would be performing The Tempest on that evening being assembled by Louis’ friend, Niall, and a bored looking stagehand. Louis chuckled as Niall dramatically hopped around after his helper dropped a hammer on Niall’s foot. 

“Sir, are you authorized to be up here?” 

Louis jumped away from the window when the person behind him spoke. Turning around, a gorgeous man stood in front of him. Louis quickly schooled his features into a look of innocence when he saw the man’s growing smirk at Louis’ surprise.

The man wore an immaculately tailored suit that clung to his waist and flared at the end of its pant legs. The fabric was a dark purple with an even darker shade of swirling paisley shapes. There was a crisp button up under the suit’s jacket and the whole ensemble was rounded out with a pair of pale gold oxford boots. Louis had no idea gold oxford boots were even a thing. He felt like a dirty peasant in his ratty cutoffs and loose tank top.

Louis dragged his eyes away from the quirky outfit to the person’s face. Besides his smirking pink lips that had Louis’ stomach tingling, the man had one of the most attractive faces he had the pleasure of viewing. Short brunette hair curled around his ears. The best part, however, were his eyes. They were the shade of leaves in a lush forest. Beneath the concern he had for a stranger being in the private quarters of Apsley House, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Rather than owning up to being a snooping tourist, Louis decided to do what he does best. Deny everything until he got caught. Judging by the man’s outfit, he was a higher up official who worked for the museum. Getting out of this situation would be easy.

“Do you work here?” Louis coyly asked.

“Something like that,” came the breezy reply.

Okay then. So, the man was gorgeous and not very willing to play Louis’ game. 

“I guess I technically have authorization,” Louis said with his most charming smile. “I’m a performer in the festival tonight. Sorry if I’m not supposed to be up here. There was no rope downstairs. I thought these rooms are another part of the museum.”

The man raised a perfect eyebrow while Louis spoke. Maybe he wasn’t as charming as he hope., Not that Louis cared; he didn’t plan on visiting the house again. The only reason he came inside in the first place was because the museum offered free tickets to everyone involved in the festival.

“If that’s the case, I can’t fault you for the staff’s mistake.” The man’s smirk turned into a knowing smile.

The pair were having a silent conversation with their eyes. The stranger was telling Louis he could see through his bullshit. Louis was sure his eyes looked guilty. He still tried to convey that he was sorry for doing something he knew he shouldn’t have.

Before Louis could awkwardly apologize again, the man spoke, “I’m going to have to ask you to make your way downstairs,” he said, not unkindly.

Louis gulped and nodded his head a few times. He then proceeded to quickly walk back to the floor’s landing before the gorgeous man could change his mind and turn him over to the home’s security team.

-

The group of actors Louis had spent the last month rehearsing with for the Apsley House Festival were outstanding. Louis spent most of his time passing from group to group for short runs, but he would be willing to work with the assembled cast any time. He was starting to feel the need to stay put in London rather than running all over the UK and paying for a flat he was rarely in.

Their costume designer was also a plus in Louis’ book. The costume he wore as Ariel was lovely. He had on soft leggings that were a cream color, which allowed him to bound across the stage as the sprite character he played. His long sleeved top was made of a light blue material that flowed with Louis’ movements. Their makeup artist had capped the outfit off with a prominent brush of silver glitter around his eyes.

After the cast took their final bow, Louis couldn't control his smile. Acting was his life, and there was nothing better than doing what he loved in front of an audience.

Their performance was the start of a long evening for event goers. There would be a short intermission before live music started. Louis had a feeling those in attendance would get progressively drunker as the event progressed into the time between late at night and early morning. The last performer was scheduled at two in the morning. At the age of twenty-seven, Louis’ ability to stay up late partying or working was long gone. 

While the staff set the makeshift stage up for the next act, their play director, James, gathered the cast and crew up. 

“You all did an amazing job! I'm so humbled that I got to work with such talented people for a great museum that is close to my heart. The Duke of Wellington and his family are close friends of mine. They asked me to put this production on, and are eager to meet you all.”

Louis could never be arsed enough to care about England’s aristocracy. The only reason he knew what the main members of the royal family looked like was because they were plastered all over merchandise across the whole of England. 

He always forced himself to pretend he cared when meeting rich theater goers. Their patronage helped pay his rent and kept the lights on in the theaters where he performed, after all. As the troupe settled down in anticipation of meeting a duke, Louis put on a polite facade. Soon, the family would shake all of their hands and then Louis would be free to go back to his flat for an overdue full night of sleep.

All of Louis’ lazy thoughts vanished when the Styles family appeared. One of them was the man he had been caught sneaking around by earlier. While the man, a young woman, and a woman close in age to his own mum went down the assembled line shaking hands, Louis realized who exactly the man was.

The two women quickly shook Louis’ hand and continued down the line. Then Louis was face to face with the Duke of Wellington.

In response to Louis’ obvious surprise, the duke gave him the same smug smirk as a few hours earlier. It was a look that was quickly becoming maddening to Louis. He should have seen this coming. 

The young duke took Louis’ offered hand and gave it a firm shake. Their palms fit together perfectly. Louis hastily yanked his hand back to himself after he realized he was holding the duke’s hand longer than was strictly necessary.

Instead of a normal greeting or congratulations on his performance, the duke and his smirk led with, “Nice glitter.”

It was snarky, but Louis could tell the man was also being serious. Louis felt his cheeks heat under the duke’s gaze before he got his brain and vocal chords under control.

“Thank you,” Louis said. Okay. Maybe he wasn’t as in control as he thought. He willed the man to move on to save Louis from further embarrassment. 

“I’m Harry Styles, by the way.”

“Louis.” 

Harry kept intently staring at him despite Louis’ flustered state. Was he waiting for Louis to say something else? Maybe he was thinking of a way to kindly ask him to stay 500 feet away from him and his house or else the proper authorities would get involved. The best option would be if he had no idea Louis was the man from earlier. Either way Louis was slowly starting to work up a panic.

Just when it looked like Harry was prepared to speak again, Louis’ saving grace appeared in the form of the younger woman. 

“Come along, baby brother. Mum is eager to get back to our seats for the next performance.”

She started pulling Harry away from Louis. Before he was forced to interact with the next person in line, he threw Louis a wink.

“Don’t go sneaking into any more off-limit areas, yeah?”

Moments ago Louis had been wondering if Harry was judging him for their earlier run in. Now, he felt indignant over the duke’s teasing tone. Louis knew he had a reputation of bending rules and getting into mischief he shouldn’t be in, but he’ll be damned if an aristocratic arse who he didn’t know teased him about it.

Louis didn’t think about his next actions as he snorted. While he was still looking at Louis over his shoulder, Louis gave him an exaggerated bow.

“Yes, your Grace,” he haughtily retorted. 

Halfway through the stunt, Louis remembered his earlier thoughts on being polite to theater donors. When he had straightened from the bow, Louis turned and quickly strode away. He’d rather die than let the smug duke see his face turn red from embarrassment. 

The sound of the duke’s blaring, but somehow beautiful, laugh followed Louis all the way back to his flat.

-

He succeeded in convincing himself nothing out of the ordinary had happened until he finally settled into his bed for the night. When he was comfortably propped against his headboard and surrounded by mounds of pillows, Louis pulled his laptop onto his thighs.

Feeling silly for what he was about to do, Louis typed ‘Harry Styles’ into the internet search bar. Beside a Wikipedia page about the original Duke of Wellington and his family line, there weren’t too many articles about Harry. However, the images tab was full of the current Duke of Wellington’s unfairly pretty face.

Almost an hour later Louis was still looking at the life of Harry Styles. Louis was surprised by the amount of tumblrs dedicated to England’s aristocracy. There were even quite a few solely covering the duke.

Louis wasn’t expecting much, but he was still disappointed by the lack of personal information. The duke and his family spent a lot of time volunteering with charitable organizations and attending events. Personal interviews conducted by the charities he worked with only asked questions about Harry’s favorite color and dream date.

The most interesting interview was one which was filmed almost a year prior. It was shot with another young man, the son of some lord, named Liam. The woman hosting the interview asked the pair about the traits they look for in a woman. Liam jokingly replied female.

Harry looked at Liam and said, “Not that important.”

It was obvious that if Harry had been confirmed as anything but straight, the media would’ve been all over it. But, the lack of confirmation from Harry didn’t stop his fans from speculating.

Louis found lists of reasons why Harry wasn’t straight with accompanying photos and interview quotes. It seemed to Louis that anytime Harry was noticed with anyone, regardless of their gender, someone claimed they were together. The only public relationships Harry ever commented on were with women quoted as “up and coming” models. 

It was midnight when Louis finally decided he had seen enough photos of the duke in various colorful suits and Gucci shoes. He cocooned himself in his blankets and slowly let the darkness of his bedroom relax his tired body. Before finally drifting off to sleep, Louis rationalized that it was okay that he had just spent almost two hours looking at the life of Harry Styles. After all, he would never see him again.

-

June crept into July and the craze of theater performances catered to summer tourists continued.

When he wasn’t rehearsing for the current run of Romeo and Juliet, he was rehearsing for an upcoming run in August at The Globe as Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice. Louis still could not believe he was being given the opportunity to act at The Globe. It felt like the work he put in at the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre was started to payoff. 

The only thing keeping his anxiety about The Merchant of Venice at bay was occasional pints with Niall and the hectic performance schedule of Romeo and Juliet at the Southwark Playhouse. It was a good thing the show was easily one of his favorite productions to ever be part of, because he was exhausted by the time he drug himself back to his flat in Fulham every night.

What made this rendition of Romeo and Juliet unique was the role reversal it had going on. Traditionally, men played all the parts in plays. For this run, men and women were present, but they switched roles. Therefore, Louis was playing Juliet across from a woman named Jade playing Romeo.

Louis admired his makeup in the mirror while a costume apprentice finished pinning a velvet hat over his hair. The dark blue of the hat and dress made Louis’ rosy cheeks and painted lips stand out with his light blue eyes. The apprentice did one last check of Louis’ outfit and then it was time to start the show.

-

Louis knew he was flushed from the exhilaration of being on stage. He was also a little sweaty but he paid no attention to it. The audience that night—closing night—had been respectful and his cast mates had been on top of their Shakespearean game. 

Backstage, he had started to run his makeup off when a stagehand appeared next to him with a bouquet of deep red carnations.

“A man said these were for you,” she said. She handed the flowers over before running off to finish cleaning up for the night. 

The carnations were fresh and fragrant. Louis was about to set them down when he noticed a hard card attached to the stems with a ribbon.

_Please meet me at the stage door. -From an admirer._

Louis’ eyebrows rose. An admirer that wanted him to meet him in the dark alley. It sounded like a terrible idea but he was curious about the man waiting for him. No one outside of his family had ever presented him with flowers after a show. If the person ended up being a creep, Louis would give him a swift kick to the bollocks and run away.

When he was ready to leave for the night, Louis picked up his flowers and cautiously made his way to the back door. He was fully outside the door looking around for someone waiting for him when a voice came from under the street light at the entrance to the alley.

“Took you long enough,” came the smooth draw. 

It suddenly clicked in his mind who the voice belonged to. The long legs attached to the silhouette made him even more sure who his admirer was. Harry Styles, the Duke of Wellington, was the admirer behind the flowers. Louis made his way to the street and had to physically stop himself from pulling a face at Harry’s statement. He was also trying to control the anxiety in his stomach at seeing the duke again. Louis was never meant to see the man again. And the duke certainly was not supposed to search Louis out.

Harry was giving him an expectant look as he stood there clutching the flowers to his chest.

“These are from you?” Louis asked in disbelief.

Harry’s lips quirked into the familiar smug smirk Louis was unwillingly becoming fond of.

“Yes.”

“Were you actually in the audience tonight?” 

“I knew after watching you at Hyde Park that I had to see you again,” Harry responded.

Louis was never good at being modest. His life was about being the center of attention and he unashamedly loved it. What he could not understand how he captured the eye of a nobleman. Through his confused thoughts, Louis’ penchant for pushing people to explain themselves kicked in.

“And why did you have to see me again?” Louis asked with a sassy edge.

“Normally I would tell someone to not fish for compliments but I don’t mind confessing all the thought I’ve had about you,” Harry said.

Louis could tell the duke was serious and it broke the suspicious thoughts and feelings he had over Harry’s presence at the theater. 

“It’s a cheesy thing to say, but from the moment I first met you in Apsley House I could see a spark in your eyes. Your vibrancy doesn’t outshine the other actors on stage. It blends in while somehow still being unique and identifiable. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. Even though you were flustered when you found out who I am, speaking to you afterwards made everything worse. When I couldn’t get you out of my head, I asked James about you. And here I am.”

There was a faint blush high on Harry’s cheekbones Louis could barely make out under the yellow light of the lamp illuminating them.

With only two brief meetings, Louis was completely endeared by Harry. He had a sharp confidence that dug at Louis’ bullshit detector but it was obvious he was soft under the smug exterior he held as a duke.

Louis felt his eyes crinkle as he hid a smile in the fragrant carnations. “Now what are you going to do?”

When Harry realized Louis was serious about his question, a pair of deep dimples popped in delight next to his own smile. 

Harry took a step closer so they were almost toe-to-toe before digging around in his coat pocket and pulling out a mobile.

“Since I haven’t scared you off yet, maybe you’ll give me your number and we can get to know each other on a proper date?”

“I don’t know, mister. Have you asked my parents if you could court me?” Louis batted his eyelashes.

“I gladly will if that’s what it takes to see you again,” Harry solemnly replied.

A giggle escaped Louis’ lips as he swiped the proffered phone. Already, he was feeling like he could be himself and Harry would banter right back.

As soon as Louis handed the phone back, Harry quickly tapped out a slew of mildly inappropriate emojis next to his name. Louis ignored the ping coming from his pocket in favor of focusing on Harry.

Before letting the moment get too awkward, Harry cleared his throat. “Can I walk you home?”

Louis let out an unattractive scoff. “Leave it to a duke to not realize the peasants don’t always live in close proximity to work.”

Dawning realization made Harry’s smooth forehead crinkle with a frown. Louis needed no apology when it was obvious, at least to himself, that he was joking. Instead of letting Harry speak, Louis hooked his left arm with Harry’s right.

“I’m taking the bus. How about walking with me to the stop up the road?”

The worried look disappeared and Harry easily let Louis tug him along the sidewalk in the right direction.

It was a comically short distant but Louis let Harry have his romantic moment. They walked in comfortable silence until the pair stood next to the bus stop’s enclosure.

To Louis’ disappointment, his bus pulled up a few moments later. Their parting was different than the certainty of never seeing each other again that Louis had at Hyde Park. This time, he had a future date and the weight of Harry’s waiting message on his mobile to look forward to.

A prickle of doubt over why someone like Harry was interested in him had Louis speaking a shy goodbye as he looked back at Harry from the steps of the bus.

“Until next time, Lou.”

The smug smirk was back but, underneath it, Louis could see a mixture of curiosity and fondness in the duke’s gaze.

After he had sat down and the bus had roared away from the kerb, Louis realized he had agreed to go on a date with a semi-famous man who had never confirmed to the world his sexuality.

-

Only when he had completed his nightly routine and slid into the comfort of the blankets on his bed did Louis allow himself to look at Harry’s text.

It was a simple _this is harry x_

Harry had already made his intentions clear. He had travelled to Southwark for Christ’s sake. Should he reply right now or play it cool and wait until the next day? Harry was probably already asleep anyway.

Just because he had asked for Louis’ number didn’t mean he wanted to do anything besides plan their date. Louis knew he was making a big deal out of nothing. Harry was a person who happened to be a duke. Instead of stressing over Harry’s title, he should be treating the situation like the other typical experiences he had with men.

With a dramatic huff, Louis fired off a thumbs up emoji in reply before putting his phone on do not disturb and cocooning himself in his blankets for sleep.

-

The next day, Louis had nowhere to be until the late afternoon. He was grateful for a precious Sunday morning without an alarm waking him up. It wasn’t until late morning sunshine persistently hit him in the face that Louis stretched in preparation to start the day. With sleep still clouding his eyes, Louis groped under his pillow for his phone. Rolling onto his back, he unlocked the device and started going through his notifications.

There were a few messages from his younger sisters and a Facebook post Jade had tagged him in, but his eyes caught on a text from Harry. 

_Glad I got to see you last night. How does Friday work for you? X_

Louis felt giddy over the simple question. The majority of his dates over the last year had been setups by theatre friends or hookups after a night spent drinking at a bar. Going through the motions of setting up a date with someone he had previously met and wanted to go out with was refreshing.

After double checking his availability, Louis let Harry know he was free Friday evening. With that in mind, Louis lazily caught up on some TV and then took his time getting ready for the day.

On the way to rehearsal for his Globe performance, Louis took out his phone to pass the time. He was surprised to find three texts from Harry.

Can’t wait Followed by a pink flower emoji sent shortly after Louis’ date confirmation.

 _What are you doing today?_ and an hour later _I’m at a boring horse race._

It had been thirty minutes since the last text. While Louis why trying to write a reply, another message appeared: _Louiiisss, entertain me._

Louis cocked an eyebrow in response to the last text. This was another side of Harry Louis had yet to see. The duke with the all-knowing smirk was replaced by a bored man at a grown-up event.

 _Leave me alone, Curly. I’ve got a serious rehearsal to attend._ Louis replied.

 _:((_

Louis chose to ignore the text in favor of focusing on the rehearsal, which had a strict no phone policy. As soon as he walked through the doors of the rehearsal space, he cleared his mind of his personal life and the outside world.

-

The texts from Harry didn’t stop, but they thankfully weren’t as persistent as the first day he had Louis’ number. Their conversations were light, simple texts asking about each other’s day, discussing their hobbies and interests, or commenting on something funny that had happened to them. Questions about their personal lives were never touched upon. Louis didn’t want to ask, in case Harry was protective of his personal life as a duke.

Louis was still having trouble connecting the carefree person he was texting to the smug duke he had now met twice in person. The days leading up to their date Louis thought about these contradictions and worried about how Harry might act toward him when they met again. It was only one date, he told himself. He’d see how it went and go from there. Ghosting was a thing, after all.

Friday morning arrived and Louis was in no way prepared for a date with a member of the aristocracy. In fact, he almost forgot all about it amidst his stressful day. Louis had been late to rehearsal that morning because for whatever reason, he had completely forgotten to set his alarm the night before and woke up an hour late.

After throwing on the nearest clothes on the floor and swiping a package of crisps from the kitchen counter, Louis had flown down the stairs of his flat and dashed for the bus stop up the street. He had arrived thirty minutes late and sheepishly apologized to the show’s unimpressed director. It was one of the rare days no performances were scheduled so the company was able to rehearse at The Globe all day. The start date was creeping closer and closer, which made the entire cast and crew more anxious than ever.

Louis’ stomach was not happy by the time they broke for lunch. He walked to the Eat up the street for a quick bite. While standing in line with his purchase, Louis realized he had left his phone at home when all he found in his pockets was his wallet and the crinkled script he had read on the bus. With a sigh, Louis accepted the fact he would be going over his lines during break instead of relieving stress by laughing at jokes on twitter.

The last few hours of rehearsal dragged on for Louis. He was not involved in several of the scenes they worked on the latter half of the day. However, he was required to be there for whenever the director wanted a scene with Gratiano. 

On the way home, Louis almost nodded off against the bus window. By the time he got home and made it up the three flights of stairs to his floor, all Louis wanted to do was crash on his couch for a few hours. He flopped onto the worn out cushions and closed his eyes in preparation for a relaxing nap.

Louis was dozing off when a chime startled him awake.

“Shit!” he said, as he realized the noise was his forgotten phone.

He found the phone sitting on his bathroom counter where he’d left it after quickly brushing his teeth that hectic morning. Louis then made himself comfortable again on the couch. The top notification had him jumping of the couch again.

Do you want me to send a car to pick you up? Harry had texted.

The date with a Duke! Louis mentally cursed himself out for forgetting while sending a message back.

_I can meet you wherever we’re going! Send me the address._

Louis looked at the time. He still had nearly two hours until their agreed meeting time. He hadn’t ruined anything yet. Hopefully the restaurant wasn’t too far away. The next text showed up a few minutes later as Louis was getting the temperature for his shower just right.

_8-9 Blacklands Terrace, Chelsea. Dress nice. :)_

It suddenly hit Louis that he was going on a date with the Duke of Wellington. He was starting to think he was in way over his head.

-

Louis wiped his slightly sweaty fringe from his face as he walked toward the restaurant. London weather in July could be brutal, especially when you relied on public transportation. He stopped in front of The Five Fields and took a deep breath. It was a normal date. He could do this. All he had to do was pretend he wasn’t at one of the poshest restaurants in London and that his date was with regular person.

After shutting the map on his phone off, Louis took another moment to boost his confidence and then pushed through the door into the restaurant. The place was small with around a dozen tables set up around the space. Louis instantly saw Harry already seated at a table for two. Harry’s face lit up when he noticed Louis walked through the door. The hostess guided Louis to their table and Harry stood up.

“You look great,” Harry greeted and then pulled a chair out for Louis at the table.

Louis had chosen to wear one of his best outfits. He had on navy slacks with a matching sport coat and a white button up, which he had left a few top buttons undone. A pair of dark brown oxfords brought the look together.

“It’s nothing compared to you,” Louis blushed as Harry carefully pushed his chair in for him. He had never been on a date where someone properly pushed his chair in.

Harry’s outfit wasn’t as formal as the first time he saw him, but it was still an outrageous choice that he somehow flawlessly pulled off. The duke had on black pants and a black sleeveless vest. Underneath the vest was a white, long sleeve top that was artfully ruffled at the collar. When Louis glanced below the table, saw a pair loafers studded with bees. If he wasn’t mistaken, they were Gucci shoes one of his sisters had recently been drooling over on Twitter.

“Hush, you,” Harry scolded him.

A menu was already in front of Louis on the table. He took a look at it while a waiter set glasses of water and empty wine glasses in front of them.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and ordered us a bottle of wine and foie gras to start. This place is known for its farm to table food.”

“You would go for the place with trendy health habits,” Louis offhandedly commented.

“Why do you say that?” Harry questioned.

Louis furiously blushed from embarrassment. That was a tidbit he had read while researching the duke after their first meeting. His mum has always taught him to be as transparent as possible with people.

“I may have read on the Internet that you’re a bit of a health nut,” Louis confessed.

The bark of a laugh Harry let out startled Louis from his embarrassment. 

“Did you google me?” Harry teased.

“Had to make sure I knew what I was getting into by accepting a date with you, didn’t I?” Louis replied with an arched eyebrow.

Banter was something Louis could do in his sleep. As their conversation continued, Louis felt himself relaxing into the restaurant’s plush chair. For a duke, Harry was surprisingly easy to talk to. By the time Harry ordered them a mango and pineapple cheesecake, all of Louis’ worries about being too different from the aristocrat were gone. It felt as if they were best friends speaking for the first time in a few years. Harry pulled Louis toward him like a magnet. Louis caught himself several times leaning over the table toward the beautiful man and had to pull himself back.

Louis knew from the time he typed the address into his phone hours earlier that he would not be able to afford The Five Fields without it hurting his monthly budget. Usually, Louis had a part-time job to bring some extra money in, but he had been so busy with shows the last few months that he was solely relying on one source of money.

He felt his hands get clammy as the date wrapped up and he knew their waiter would drop the bill off at any moment. The waiter set the slip of paper for their meal down and Harry immediately snatched it up.

“Let me pay for my portion of the meal,” Louis told him.

Harry ignored Louis, slipped a card onto the small clipboard, and passed the bill back to another worker passing by.

“Please, let me. I invited you out tonight. Next time, you can pick what we do and foot the bill,” Harry dimpled at Louis.

“Next time?”

Harry’s smile faded, “That is, if you want there to be a next time.”

“I’d love for there to be a next time,” Louis honestly told him.

They got up together and exited the restaurant. Louis was prepared for the long walk back to the bus stop he needed when Harry spoke up, “Please, let me give you a ride home. I insist this time.”

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and proceeded to swing their arms back and forth, “Alright, Mr. Fancy Duke.”

A black car pulled up beside the kerb and Harry opened the door for a gaping Louis. 

“You didn’t drive here?”

“I don’t have a license,” Harry sheepishly ran a hand through his short curls. 

Louis slid over the soft, black leather of the back seat and Harry followed him. As soon as they were settled and Harry relayed Louis’ address to the driver, Harry tenderly joined their hands again. 

The ride home was quiet, but in a peaceful way. Louis leaned fully against Harry and the man freed Louis’ hand to wrap an arm around him. They softly spoke about how hectic their schedules were the next few weeks. 

Harry was carding his hand through an almost drowsing Louis’ hair when they arrived at his apartment. Harry pulled him from the idling car and they slowly walked to the front door of the building. 

“I had a lovely time tonight,” Louis said around a yawn. 

“I’d really like to kiss you,” Harry admitted. 

Louis basked in the fond look Harry was giving him and then raised an eyebrow, “Why don’t you then?”

They both broke, smiling uncontrollably at each other. Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, Harry bent slightly to meet Louis, and their lips softly met. Louis had experienced a lot of kisses in his twenty-seven years, but none of them came close to his first kiss with Harry.

Harry’s lips were just as soft as Louis imagined. It wasn’t a demanding kiss, but they could both feel an intense heat behind the action. They pulled away at the same time, only to meet again a few seconds later. 

When they pulled away for good, Louis knew he was flushed and a bit dazed. Harry didn’t look much better, which set Louis off smiling again. 

“What’s got you smiling?” Harry said while one of his large hands continued cupping Louis’ face. 

“Nothing. I can’t believe I’ve kissed a duke,” Louis laughed. 

“Hopefully you’ll get to continue saying that.” 

Louis couldn’t help himself. He leaned in and gave Harry another kiss. Harry’s hands moved to Louis’ waist. The kiss deepened when both of them opened their mouth at the same time and their tongues teasingly touched. 

They were in their own world as they continued their heated snog. A stranger passing on the sidewalk burst their bubble when they made a disgruntled noise at the couple’s public display of affection.

“I’ll see you soon, yeah?” Louis said after they broke apart.

“You’re going to have a hell of a time trying to get rid of me now.”

It was said in a teasing way, but Louis swore Harry’s eyes were telling a more serious story. When they finally pulled apart, Louis watched from the doorway as Harry’s car slid away. 

-

Their texting continued over the next week. Both men were too busy to meet for more than an hour, so it was decided they would rather wait to spend another evening out than a meet for a short time. Harry sent sneaky messages from under the table at meetings he should have been participating in. For his part, Louis responded during short rehearsal breaks and usually fell asleep during the middle of a text conversation.

One evening, Harry got impatient for Louis to text him back and instead called his mobile. All Louis could do was laugh at Harry’s antics while poking fun at the duke for bothering him during his free time. However, it was no secret that Louis loved Harry’s attention.

By the time Louis got off the bus and flopped onto his bed, they had been talking for twenty minutes and had switched to FaceTime. Harry was in the middle of telling a story from his sister’s wedding a few years ago while Louis was deep in thought about opening night of The Merchant of Venice. As an artist, he could request tickets for his family and friends. His mum and older siblings were would be there and had Louis had spent the last several days debating if he should invite Harry. Sure, they talked to each other on a daily basis, but they had only been out on one date. Would it be weird to invite a man he’s known for barely a month to an event where the odds of him meeting his family were extremely high?

Louis tuned in to Harry’s story right as he finished, “He didn’t tell me until a month later that he had no recollection of the night!” Harry made one of his goose laughs. The only reason it appeared Louis had been listening was his own laughter, which was actually a fond giggle in reaction to Harry.

“Looks like you have something on your mind? Getting nervous about next week?”

“A bit. That’s not what I’m thinking about, though.”

Harry hummed in acknowledgment. He didn’t push Louis to tell him, but he was there if Louis wanted to talk.

“I can get tickets for the shows and I wanted to ask you to be there opening night…”

Louis looked for any reaction to his words. None came. The fact that he had a blank face on did not bode well for Louis’ request.

“You won’t offend me if you say no, Haz,” Louis told him while his mind internally yelled that all he wanted was Harry’s support on the biggest opening of his career so far.

“I’d love to go!” Harry quickly recovered. “I’m not sure if my family’s PR team would agree to me going to such a public event,” he weakly finished.

Louis immediately wanted to snark something back about Harry being a grown man. He wasn’t allowed to attend things for fun? “No worries, love. My family will be there to celebrate.”

He had learned the art of delivering a pointed barb while seeming polite.

Harry’s eyes narrowed and he responded in a flat tone, “I look at my diary and see if I’m free or not.”

“Sure.”

“I’ve got to go now. Talk tomorrow?”

Louis was reeling from how wrong their conversation just went, but icing Harry out hadn’t crossed his mind.

“‘Course,” he softly replied.

They said an awkward goodbye. Louis gave a childish huff after hanging up. It made no sense. Harry had travelled to see him in Romeo and Juliet, why was this any different?

-

Today was the day. Louis Tomlinson was making his first appearance at the infamous Globe. Louis was backstage during the full dress rehearsal waiting for his next cue. 

Louis pulled out his phone to send Harry one last text before the chaos of opening night really took off. The day after Louis asked him to come to the first show, Harry acted like everything was normal went they texted. He had even called Louis again to speak that evening. Louis didn’t want to push Harry to come if he didn’t want to, so he had stayed silent. He assumed the duke would not make an appearance, but he stilled wanted him to know that a seat was available if he changed his mind.

_If you decide to come tonight, there’s a ticket for you at the box office xx_

He kept his phone with him as long as he could to see if a response came. It was disappointing that Harry never replied, especially since he had told Louis the day before that he planned on spending the day in bed at Aspley House. Maybe Harry wasn’t as eager to see Louis again as Louis was to see him. Whatever was going on in the mind of the curly-haired duke, it was Louis’ job to clear it from his mind and give a stellar performance that night.

-

A few hours later, Louis looked himself over once more in a backstage mirror. He admired the dark blue doublet and cape he had on. Somehow the gold pantaloons styled well with the dark blue. The costume designer had done a great job. Even Louis’ shapely calves looked nice in the outfit’s tights. 

A production member let everyone know backstage that they were starting in five minutes. His character, Gratiano, was in the first scene of the first act. After entering the stage, he had a few moments to take in the assembled audience before his first lines. He immediately spotted his mum and sisters beaming in the seats he had got for them. The house was full and he had to stop himself from looking around for Harry even though he knew he wasn’t there.

His first long speech to Antonio was playful yet serious, the exact representation of Gratiano’s character. The young man did not make another appearance until the second scene of act two. Louis felt like he was doing his best acting of his career. He would read the reviews to come, but he felt on par with the more famous actors in the show. 

It wasn’t until halfway through the play, when Gratiano addressed the audience while speaking to Bassanio about his intentions with Nerissa, that Louis saw a familiar head of short curls in the standing room section of the theater.

Harry was there. After the way he acted when Louis first asked him to come and the silence today, Louis couldn’t believe he was there. As Gratiano exited the stage, Louis’ feelings swung between delight and anger. Why had Harry acted so strange about coming to the show?

Louis tried shaking Harry from his mind, but his presence instantly came back when he went back on the stage. The rest of the show went by without incident. Gratiano was the last to speak and Louis forced himself not to exhale in relief as he exited with the rest of the cast in the final scene.

The applause was thunderous as they individually walked back out to bow. Adrenaline pumped through Louis and he couldn’t keep the grateful smile from his face as he looked around at the theater’s audience on their feet. The next month would be hectic with the amount of shows scheduled, but the first one was finally done with.

Louis made his way back stage where all the cast and crew were congratulating each other. When asked if he wanted to get drinks that night, Louis promised to text if he planned on going. He didn’t know what Harry being there meant, but planned on talking to him even if he wasn’t waiting to greet Louis after.

He quickly changed into more comfortable clothing and wiped his stage makeup off before going to find his family where he had instructed them to wait after the performance. 

Louis was instantly squished in a loving group hug by four of his younger sisters as soon as they spotted him. Once they let him go, Louis embraced his patiently waiting mum.

“You were wonderful, Boo,” she told him with proud tears in her eyes. 

“Thanks, mum. It means a lot that you’re all here.”

His mom finally let him go from their hug and the Tomlinson clan was able to discuss the show and how they had missed each other since their last meeting in the spring.

“Are we still meeting for lunch tomorrow?” he asked. 

“Of course, darling. Now, I think someone else is waiting to see you. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow.” She gave Louis a knowing look. 

Everyone received another hug before Jay ushered them out. It wasn’t until Harry stepped out of the shadows that Louis realized why his mum had given him her patented mum look and left so soon.

Harry had another bouquet of carnations, which he silently offered to Louis. Only after Louis gingerly took them did Harry speak. 

“You did a fantastic job,” Harry complimented. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Louis questioned him. He wasn’t going to let Harry charm him into forgetting about the awkwardness of the situation. 

Harry ran a nervous hand through his short hair. “I honestly don’t have a good reason besides that I got scared. I’ve never been in a situation where someone I’m dating asked me to such an important night in their career. I wasn’t planning on coming. Then I realized we probably would stop seeing each other if I didn’t show. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Even though you acted pretty shitty, I’m glad you came,” Louis admitted. 

“Let me make it up to you?”

Louis’ eyebrows furrowed together. “How?”

“I’ve got a date planned. I probably don’t deserve it, but you’ll have to trust me.”

Louis had been waiting weeks to see Harry again. Harry had made it clear that he regretted the way he originally handled Louis asking him to the show. He knew he was already head over heels for the duke. Louis reached out and took Harry’s hand in his.

“Is that a yes?” Harry asked with a dimpled smile.

Louis teasingly rolled his eyes. “As long as your fancy car is waiting for us.” It was absurd how easily they fell back into their fond banter.

They pair simultaneously reached for the others hand. Through giggles, Louis led them to the stage door exit.

Louis brought them to a halt. “There’s a lot of fans and press with cameras outside this door.”

“Let’s give them something to talk about then.” Harry gave Louis a reassuring smile and tightened his hold on the older man’s hand.

The couple were blinded by flashes when Louis opened the door. Once everyone realized it wasn’t one of the well-known actors they were there for, the chaos stopped. Harry kept their hands linked as they walked passed the crowd and down the side-road to the awaiting car. Louis knew he had what might come across as a manic grin on, but he couldn’t help the way Harry’s warm hand in his made him feel.

-

Despite Louis’ wheedling, Harry refused to tell him where they were going. He was understandably confused when they pulled up to Apsley House. Harry hushed Louis’ questions and guided him outside of the car and through the house.

Harry opened a back door onto the property’s back garden. The tall trees and even the wall keeping the public eye out were strung with fairy lights. Louis’ mouth dropped open at the scene before him. It was as if a small portion of the stars was before them. 

In the center of the English garden a large blanket was laid out with an awaiting picnic basket. Louis didn’t speak until they had both sat down on the blanket. “This is amazing, Hazza.”

“Wait until you try what I cooked for us,” Harry told him with a bashful grin.

Louis watched with a watering mouth as Harry pulled a delicious looking quiche out of the basket between them. Harry proceeded to serve them both a slice and then pulled out two small containers of Greek salad. The final part of the meal was two glasses and a bottle of white wine. Louis patiently waited as Harry poured each of them a glass.

Harry raised his glass toward Louis. “Here’s to many more outstanding performances.”

They clinked their glasses together and then focused on the food in front of them. As soon as the flavors of the ham and goat cheese hit Louis’ taste buds, he gave an appreciative moan that had Harry laughing.

“You made this?” Louis asked in disbelief.

“I spent a couple of hours on it today. I knew getting you here didn’t mean you would forgive how I’ve been acting, so I decided to impress you with my cooking. Is it working?”

Louis gave Harry’s shoulder a light shove. Their conversation remained carefree as they ate. Eventually, Harry revealed Swiss chocolate for desert. Simple, yet delicious.

They finished the bottle of wine and sat in a comfortable silence. With the alcohol in his system, Louis felt himself relax after a stressful week of rehearsals. 

“Thank you for doing this, Harry. It’s been a great end to a long couple of weeks.”

“I should be thanking you. I was convinced you were going to tell me to fuck off tonight, which I deserve.”

“You can stop beating yourself up. I think I understand why you reacted how you did. I didn’t want to push you into going, but I’m willing to listen if you ever want to talk about it.”

They were both quiet again, looking into each other’s eyes. Harry seemed to be searching for something. Whatever it was, Louis hoped he found it in Louis’. They gravitated towards each other across the blanket until they were breathing each other’s space.

“Can I kiss you now?” Harry whispered.

In response, Louis leaned in until their lips connected. He couldn’t believe he had survived the long interval between their first kiss and now. The sheer happiness he felt made Louis gasp. Harry took that as a sign to deepen the kiss, which Louis gladly reciprocated. 

Louis’ body moved on its own accord and he found himself straddling Harry legs. He tangled his hands in Harry’s hair while Harry gripped his waist. When Harry greedily squeezed his arse, Louis honestly couldn’t stop himself from slightly grinding down on Harry’s crotch. He could feeling Harry’s cock getting harder through the thin fabric of his designer slacks. Harry groaned as Louis ground against him with intention the second time. 

“Ugh, Louis. Don’t do that if you can’t finish what you’ve started.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on finishing,” Louis said before nibbling on one of Harry’s earlobes.

Harry put a hand on Louis’ sharp jaw and guided their mouths back together. A few more minutes of spit-slick kissing and both men were uncomfortably hard. An embarrassing mewl passed Louis’ lips when Harry pressed a hand against his sweatpants-trapped length.

“Is this okay?” Harry questioned as he continued rubbing over Louis’ erection.

All Louis could manage was a gasped yes in response as he eagerly rocked his hips. Harry’s fingers paused when he curled them into the waistband of Louis’ sweats. When Louis didn’t stop him, Harry pulled his briefs and sweats just below Louis’ plump arse. The cool night air against his exposed cock made Louis shiver in pleasure. 

Distracted by his new favorite body part of Louis’, Harry ignored his leaking cock in favor of pawing at his arse cheeks again. It was even better without the cottons of Louis’ sweats in the way.

Louis growled in frustration as Harry happily explored his backside. He in turn leaned back from Harry’s waist to undo Harry’s slacks. Louis froze when Harry’s cock was able to come free just from Louis undoing the button and zip, because he had no pants on. He was proud of his own thick cock, but he immediately thought Harry’s put his to shame, it was so beautiful.

It was Harry’s turn to stop his ministrations when Louis teasingly stroked up the thick vein beneath Harry’s cock. A gorgeous moan passed Harry’s lips and Louis followed the noise up with a heated kiss. Their dicks brushing each other forced them apart.

Taking the lead, Harry spit in the palm of one of his large hands and easily took both of their lengths in hand. He started jacking both of them off, steadily moving his hand faster with Louis’ encouraging whines.

“I’m closed, Haz,” Louis panted into Harry’s open mouth as they traded sloppy kisses.

A few more passes and a well-time twist of the wrist had Louis emitting a mix between a sigh and moan as he spilled over Harry’s hand and both of their dicks. Once the finished, Harry let go of Louis’ cock to quickly strip his own. Harry bit into Louis’ shoulder as his own orgasm washed over him, adding his come to the mess on his hand.

Louis gave Harry a more relaxed, chaste kiss now that they both had reached their climax. He grabbed one of the cloth napkins for Harry to use while he tucked his spent cock back into his pants.

“I’m going to have to hide this from the maid,” Harry lamented as he carefully put the napkin aside.

A loud laugh escaped Louis’ lungs. Of course a duke had staff to take care of his laundry. Harry playfully tackled Louis to the ground. Their giggles turned into several lip pecks until they both settled on their backs on the blanket.

“Have you ever had public sex?” Harry asked. Louis could hear the smirk in his voice.

“I’d call that semi-public. We’re still on your private estate, after all.”

Harry gave a lazy hand wave. “Semantics.”

“Well, Sir Duke. Consider yourself lucky. You are the first person I’ve had semi-public sex with.” In the darkness, he could see Harry give a victorious fist pump. All Louis could do was fondly roll his eyes in response to his antics. 

Louis rolled over until he was half laying on Harry who willingly wrapped an arm around Louis. They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Louis could feel himself drifting off to sleep when the rumble of Harry speaking brought him back.

“I was worried about coming to see you tonight, because I’ve only publically dated women.”

“You could have just told me that.” Louis sighed. 

Harry began playing with Louis’ hair. “I know that now.”

“My father suddenly died two years ago. Becoming a Duke at twenty-two was not what I had planned after finishing uni. None of us were prepared for it, least of all me. I grew up learning how to represent England’s aristocracy while having a loving and open-minded family. I’ve known since grade school that I’m bisexual...but I didn’t want having a boyfriend to put any kind of negative spotlight on The Duke of Wellington and his lineage. It’s been three years, yet I’m still worried what coming out might mean.”

Louis had always been told he avoided heavy situations. The safety of the night found him being honest with Harry when he stopped speaking.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through losing your dad and taking on a role with an illustrious history, Hazza. You shouldn’t have to feel bad about your sexuality even as an aristocrat. The whole hierarchy makes no sense to me. I’ve never been in the closet and I never plan on not being openly out.” Louis didn’t want to be harsh with the sweet duke, but he needed to convey that the romantic side of their relationship couldn’t continue if it meant Louis hiding an integral part of who he is.

“That’s the thing, Lou. Being with you makes me not want to hide. An openly queer person is a change the aristocracy needs. Even if only one other person feels safe enough to come out because of it, it would mean I’m helping to make a difference. Being with you makes it all worth it. That’s why I got it together and came to support you tonight,” Harry finished.

Louis sat up to look at Harry’s face. His eyes shone bright in the glow of the fairy lights. He reached a hand out and felt Harry’s dimple as the lovely boy smiled. 

“As long as you’re doing this for yourself and not solely for me.”

“I think it’s about time I stop running from my identity. How could I not show off a boyfriend like you?”

He could tell by the tone in Harry’s voice that he knew exactly what he was doing when he said the word boyfriend. “Boyfriend, eh?”

“Only if it’s something you want as much as I do.”

“It’s mutual,” Louis instantly replied.

A startled honk erupted from Harry. The younger man was all legs, but he somehow arranged himself on Louis’ lap in order to properly show his affection. 

“Even if it means going to boring events and occasionally having your photograph in a trashy tabloid?”

“As long as some of the events are fun charity ones and they only photograph my good side,” Louis solemnly replied. 

Their perfect picnic dinner ended as both of them hoped it would. With kisses, laughter, and the promise of more time spent together.

-

On his way to meet his family for lunch the next morning, Louis received a text from his boyfriend. He giddily smiled to himself over the new title, which he was fonder of than Duke.

A rush of anxiety washed over Louis when he saw that the text was a photo of them leaving the theater the night before. The caption hinted that maybe the Duke of Wellington was seeing a man. Louis was preparing himself for Harry’s reaction when his next text appeared.

_They got my bad side :(_

-

Louis was happier than he could ever remember. When he could, Harry went to The Merchant of Venice. He ignored Louis’ various comments of, “You don’t have to come, Haz. You’ve already seen it three times.” Louis was beside himself with the support Harry showed. The bouquets of gorgeous carnations were a bonus.

They went on dates and did everything normal couples did. Louis wasn’t in the closet, but Harry wasn’t out. PDA, including hand holding, was mostly avoided. People continued to speculate about their relationship, but Louis followed Harry’s lead and kept his favorite photos off social media. With Harry’s consent, Louis’ family and closest friends were privy to the knowledge that he was dating a duke. 

A month after their evening in the garden, Harry invited Louis for Sunday brunch at Chiltern Firehouse followed by a visit to the Wallace Collection. Louis was grateful he had a free day to enjoy day-drinking and world-class art with Harry. The majority of his date ideas involved a nice meal or local museum, which Louis found ridiculously endearing. 

Wearing his usual skinny jeans and clean button-up for a higher-end establishment, Louis enjoyed the weather as he walked from the bus stop to the old 19th century hotel. 

Louis told the host the reservation he was there for and was led back to a far corner of the restaurant. He stopped short of the table in confusion when he saw who was sitting at the table with Harry.

Harry’s eyes lit up before they turned sheepish. He stood up to greet Louis, “Louis, I believe you met my mother, Anne the Duchess of Wellington, at the Apsley House Festival.”

“Yes, it’s nice to see you again,” Louis awkwardly smiled. 

“I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your brunch, dear,” Anne gave Louis a fond smile unique to mothers. 

“Not at all! It’s lovely to see you again, ma’am.” Louis replied even though it was anything but fine. Why was Harry springing meeting his mum on him without asking first?

Louis slid into the booth at their table and was shortly followed by Harry who grabbed his hand under the table once they were settled. Their server came around and Anne insisted on a round of mimosas after asking Louis if he drinks.

“Louis, indulge me by telling me about yourself. My son hasn’t stopped talking about you.” This the tone of the meal was set. It was apparent to Louis that Anne was there to judge the Duke of Wellington’s boyfriend for herself. 

Anne didn’t ask prying questions, which Louis thankful for. He had nothing to hide from her and spoke openly about his life and career. By the end of the meal, the table had a relaxed meal. Louis openly laughed and joked with Anne as she poked fun at her son. 

Even through the seriousness of the beginning of brunch, Louis noticed her gentle personality showing through. After insisting on paying the bill, Anne’s tone took on her earlier seriousness, “I do apologise for inserting myself into your date time. I gave Harry no choice. He has been hinting at publicly introducing you as his boyfriend I needed to know you wouldn’t be scared off by the aristocracy’s unfortunately high standards. I fully support Harry, but it’s my job as him mum to see how his partners will react to our at times uptight world. Harry’s a grown man and doesn’t need my blessing, but he has it. I just want him to be happy with whomever he spends his time with.”

Throughout Anne’s small speech, Louis thought about how similar she was to his own mum. Both of them were lucky to have such caring mothers. God help them all when the two of them meet and inevitably become best friends.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Anne laughed at Louis’ continued formalities, “Please, call me Anne. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of each other very soon.”

-

They bid farewell to Harry’s mom as she gracefully got into the backseat of a car and drove away. Without saying anything to the other, the pair turned and started walking in the direction of the Wallace Collection.

Louis could tell Harry was struggling with what to do. He didn’t know if Louis was mad at him and was waiting for Louis to do something first. The thing was, Louis had loved their brunch after he got over the initial shock of the Duchess of Wellington wanting to officially meet the man her only son was dating. If Anne asked to make Sunday brunch a common occurrence, Louis would jump right on board. 

Harry’s thoughts where whirling, and Louis could predict that he was forming an apology. To put him out of his mental misery, Louis grabbed one of Harry’s hands, “You don’t need to apologize. Your mum’s presence turned into a lovely surprise. We should do this again.”

An audible breath was heard from Harry as Louis swung their linked hands back and forth as if he had not a care in the world.

“You mean it?”

“Of course, love.”

Later while they were roaming through the Wallace Collection, Louis finally asked Harry what he had been dying to ask since Anne’s final conversation that morning, “Does your mum do that for all of your significant others?” 

Louis poked Harry between his furrowed eyebrows when the question made his face turn sour, “Yes.”

“How’d I do compared to the others?’

Harry placed his hands on Louis’ shoulders and turned him so they were facing each other, “I mentioned dating women in public before, but none of them were ever introduced to the aristocracy.”

The snogging session following that revelation had them being reprimanded by a gallery attendant, but neither one of them were too sorry about it.

-

As the Season wound down for the British Elite, only a few large events remained for Harry and Louis to make what would essentially be their debut. After a few more brunches with Anne, it was decided that they would go as a couple to Frieze London, which is a contemporary art exhibition with galleries and artists on display from around the world. The luxe exhibition took over Regent’s Park for an entire week.

The Invitation-Only Preview was an evening event when the majority of the elite made their presence known. The general public, museum professionals, and gallery owners took over the makeshift spaces.

It was like a movie premiere for Louis. There was a black carpet leading to the main show floor. People curiously gawked around the barriers and there were magazine writers and social bloggers covering the event. The only thing that stopped Louis from getting right back in the car was Harry’s reassuring grip on his hand. They joined the rest of the suit-clad men and evening gown attired women on the carpet. 

Harry steered them around stalled socialites talking to each other and kept them moving towards the open doors. Louis could feel the heads of those around them turn and follow them with their eyes. Flashes went off from the professional photographers. The journalists rarely asked questions at the event. They were mainly there to document who went and what they wore for the masses of social media to consume. One curious journalist broke and asked the question all of the aristocracy was wanting to know.

“Your Grace, I’m from the Tatler. Could you tell us who you are with tonight?”

Judging from the look on the woman’s face, she couldn’t believe she had got the nerve to ask the Duke of Wellington who he was with for the evening.

Harry put on his most charming smile as they paused for the journalist, “I’m will my boyfriend, Louis Tomlinson.”

More cameras flashed and whispers could be heard around the couple as they began walking again. Louis and Harry shared a private smile. The hardest part of the night was over and Louis felt his nerves loosen. Now everyone would know they were together. It wasn’t important what the gossip tabloids would print or what Harry’s fellow peers had to say. All Louis and Harry cared about was letting people know so they could freely continue their relationship without speculations.

None of it mattered. Somehow, they had found each other. Being together and supporting each other as they continued to grow was what was important to them.

As Harry introduced him to friends and acquaintances between time spent looking at the art around them, Louis contentedly smiled to himself as the thought crossed his mind that he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his days with a duke.

_The End._

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated! :)
> 
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> [Rebloggable Tumblr Post](http://musketrois.tumblr.com/post/174380925862)


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